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A TikToker flew back to London following his two-week search of Tenerife for missing Jay Slater because he claimed he no longer felt safe on the party island.
But sick trolls were waiting for Callum Fahim as he touched down in the capital on Thursday after tracking his flight number from his livestreams online.
The keen hiker flew out to the Spanish island to help in the hunt for the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire who vanished after a night out on holiday, in a case which has gripped the world.
Mr Fahim said the situation had become “horrific” after he received a terrifying cryptic warning on social media, which read: “Be careful people are going to find you at the airport take extra care. He said he would love to get hold of you.”
In a video seen by The Independent, a man films himself waiting for Mr Fahim to land in London from Tenerife.
The man in a chequered shirt films a selfie livestream asking disembarking passengers on the flight if they know a Callum. Apparently growing impatient, he said: “If he doesn’t come out in the next five minutes, the police are everywhere now so I might have to disappear.”
Mr Fahim had spent the past two weeks voluntarily organising unsearched areas of the inhospitable mountain range surrounding Masca where Jay Slater vanished three weeks ago, despite Spanish police officially ending the land search.
But after he claimed a combination of organised criminal gangs on the island, online threats and running out of money became too much, the influencer decided to return home to London without finding any trace of the missing teen.
Mr Fahim told The Independent: “Things weren’t adding up for me. I didn’t feel safe out there but I felt like I had a duty of care to be there.
“I didn’t want to fail until we found him. Hearing the heartbreak from his mum, hand on heart, I wish them nothing but success. I returned home for safety reasons but I didn’t want to give up because I felt her pain.
“I want it to be known I’m not a bad person I have a heart. I genuinely do care but I’m receiving horrific messages from people threatening to kill me. People said they are going to find me and break my back.
“I’ve reported this to police, but it is all fake Facebook accounts. It’s making me ill and I’m losing my voice.”
The hiker and his crew of locals have combed new areas of the rugged cacti-infested terrain that no one has previously searched, such as outhouses, abandoned shelters and ravines some 1km above sea level.
On ending the search, he said: “I’m not disappointed to come home. I feel like I went out there with good intentions and even though I didn’t bring Jay home to his mum, I hope that what I did was enough.
“I feel like I’ve given my all, I didn’t succeed but I feel like I supported the process of getting Jay home. I never claimed to be search and rescue - I can do mapping and resources and organise people, that is my strength.
“I’ve learned to be more resilient as I think my kindness has been mistaken for weakness by the public. People are getting a thrill about abusing me - it is disturbing.”
Mr Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan has hit back at trolls questioning the use of money raised by the public to help in the search for her son.
More than £50,000 has been donated to a GoFundMe page dedicated to the cause, but Mr Fahim became embroiled in a dispute with Ms Duncan after he claimed he was still unable to cover his costs despite receiving a portion of the money.
Ms Duncan wrote on Facebook: “My beautiful son Jay is still missing and believe me this is no holiday.
“We are a normal working family from Lancashire going through hell.”
She added: “I do have proof of transactions and transfers to other persons but I should not have to justify this.
“So you can make up your own minds. If any of you in this group have donated I am thankful.”
Mr Fahim concluded: “Right now I’m concentrating on my loved ones. The hate has been surreal. My life has been put in danger. My priority needs to be my safety, I’ve advised my team what I think and if they choose to follow that is down to them.
“Please don’t believe everything you see online. People are looking to gain from this sadness.
“The focus should be on the people that care and that missing boy - not the trolls.”
